May 142023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Judge sets court date to school defendant Trump on protective order to guard against Trump’s threats

PoliticsGirl – This Mother’s Day

The Lincoln Project – Rick Reacts: CNN Town Hall

Ring of Fire – Eric Trump Threatens To Sue Rachel Maddow For Exposing His Disgusting Connections

Cat Needs A Family Who Will Understand His Obsession With…Cheese

Beau – Let’s talk about trusted news sources and media literacy….

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May 122023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Jury finds Donald Trump liable in E. Jean Carroll case: Three main takeaways from the verdict

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – May 9, 2023

MSNBC – ‘He has a tough road ahead of him’: Fmr. Asst. Manhattan DA on George Santos’ indictment

Parody Project – I THANK YOU (not)

These Two Feral Cats Will Restore Your Faith In True Love

Beau – Let’s talk about how a fake debt ceiling can hurt….

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May 112023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Judge finally issues gag order/protective order, restricting Donald Trump’s speech and posts

The Lincoln Project – This Is Who He Is

Thom Hartmann – Mass Shooters: Ugly Truth About Pathetic Men Revealed By Former Psycho Therapist

Puppet Regime – Putin gets introspective

MAN vs ELEPHANT: Baby Elephant Plays with KBC Journalist

Beau – Let’s talk about Biden, the FBI, and Republican pursuits….

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May 082023
 

Glenn Kirschner – In a surprise turn, Bill Barr speaks the truth: says Trump’s “a horror show” & will “deliver chaos”

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – May 2, 2023

Farron Balanced – Trump Lawyers Beg Judge Not To Muzzle Him

Armageddon Update – Skull Cracking The Debt Ceiling

Cuddly Rat Can’t Stop Giving His Cat Sister Hugs And Kisses

Beau – Let’s talk about Trump, charts, and a new line of inquiry….

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May 072023
 

Glenn Kirschner – A mole at Mar-a-Lago: person who works for Trump becomes confidential cooperator for prosecutors

The Lincoln Project – Crash

Ring of Fire – Amazon Takes The Lead On Union Busting

Liberal Redneck – Liberal Redneck – The Problem with DeSantis

Dog Gets A Mini Me

Beau – Let’s talk about Colorado, tractors, and farmers….

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May 062023
 

Yesterday, I got 8 out of 8 correct in the Conversation’s weekly quiz for the second week in a row. I can’t possibly keep this up. This week, most of the credit goes to the quiz author. The wrong answers were mostly so off the wall that it wasn’t really difficult. The only one I actually had to guess was the one about Karl Lagerfeld, and that was a true-false, so the odds were better than when there are four answers.  and, yes, Virgil called to say Happy Anniversary.  You knew he would (I certainly did.)

Cartoon – My Everyday Erinyes (#369) is up here:

Short Takes –

Letters from an American – May 4, 2023
Quote – Weirdly, Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) at a Senate Budget Committee hearing today blamed Democrats for not raising the debt ceiling themselves last year without help from the Republicans. Kate Riga of Talking Points Memo broke down this argument. If the Democrats had raised the debt ceiling through reconciliation, without Republican votes, Republicans would have insisted that it was the Democrats, not them, who had burdened the country with debt when, in fact, the Republicans added almost $8 trillion to the debt under Trump. Romney’s complaint amounts to berating the responsible Democrats for not protecting the country against the Republicans, who are willing to burn down the country. As Riga put it: “Darn you Democrats for not taking care of the debt ceiling then, because you knew we’d refuse to raise the limit unless you conceded to our demands, and look what a sticky spot we’re in now.”
Click though for much more (Click “continue reading”). They used to say “Seinfeld” was a show about nothing. This, on the other hand, is a letter about everything.

Crooks & Liars – Texas Bill Would Allow State To Overturn Harris County Elections
Quote – The measures call for the “abolition” of election administrators in counties with populations larger than 1,000,000—a metric that only applies to Harris County, which Republican state lawmakers have taken a keen interest in in the aftermath of the 2022 midterm elections…. Since then, the Harris County Elections Office report concluded that they couldn’t determine if potential voters were pushed away because of the issues at polling centers.
CLick through for story. This is so blatant that even now I can hardly imagine it succeeding though the courts. Even the courts we have now. But there is always a possibility. Clearly they think they are on to something.

Food For Thought

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Apr 302023
 

Glenn Kirschner – In closing arguments, Proud Boys BLAME DONALD TRUMP for the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol

Thom Hartmann – Distressing Truth Scientists Don’t Want To Tell You

Farron Balanced – Donald Trump Gives Jim Jordan The WORST Compliment A Politician Could Get

Parody Project – CALLOUS MAN – A Parody of Piano Man

Hissing Feral Cat Becomes A Couch Potato

Beau – Let’s talk about true propaganda….

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Apr 302023
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Peter Grimes” by Benjamin Britten. It’s based on a poem by George Crabbe (1754-1832) called “The Borough.” It is also one of two operas I would never take Virgil to or even let him liisten to, despite the fact that he learned to love opera almost as much as I do – and not just the ones considered easy to like, but also some baroque and 20th/21st century stuff (“Tea: A Mirror of Soul” composed in 2002 by Tan Dun is probably his all time favorite). Rather, it’s because they contain or allude to conduct which could be abusive directed at a young boy. The other is “Amahl and the Night Visitors” – such a sweet opera, if you can only get around that one thing. Certainly, if there is a villain in either one, it is intended to be society (that’s more explicit in “Peter Grimes” but also I think true of “Amahl.”) Peter is a fisherman, and is an outsider, and “an ordinary, weak person who, being at odds with the society in which he finds himself, tries to overcome it and, in doing so, offends against the conventional code,” as described by the tenor who originated the role. He’s intended to be sympthetic. But – there are those dead apprentices. People who don’t know opera may still be a little familiar with this one through Brtitten’s “Four Sea Interludes,” orchestral peces which describe some of the many moods if the ocean. The title tenor role is sufficiently demanding, both vocally and dramatically, that many who play it are known as Wagnerian “heldentonors.” The tenor today is British, and a Britten specialist, and is certainly built lke a heldentenor (of course there are exceptions.) He’s little known outside of the UK (which I predict will change) but has won numerous awards there.

Cartoon – 30 0430Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

Daily Beast – Pro-War Russians Duped Into Torching Kremlin Military Offices
Quote – Throughout Russia’s war against Ukraine, baffling reports of Russian pensioners trying to set military enlistment offices on fire have emerged with amusing frequency. But they’re not what you may think. Seen at first glance by some as brave protests against the war, the string of bizarre arsons have actually been part of a now widespread scheme in which scammers convince the confused pensioners they’re on a secret mission to help the war effort.
Click through for story. Our MAGAt problem is so obvious, and so severe, that it’s easy to forget that these people are not confined to the United States. They are all over the world.

The Project on Government Oversight, in the person of its President, Danielle Brian, testified before the Senate Armed SErvices Committee last week. Being on their mailinglst I received an email afterwards, including links to the testimony itself.
Quote (from email) – The testimony was especially topical as it was reported just this week that the former director of the National Security Agency took on a $700,000 contract as a cybersecurity adviser for Saudi Arabia, a nation notorious for its human-rights violations. With close to 700 former high-ranking government officials now working for major defense contractors and over 500 former servicemembers working for foreign interests, closing the lucrative revolving door and pipeline is a matter of utmost urgency.
You can click through to the video of the event (the hearing begins between 17:30 and 17:40 with ELizabeth Warren. At 27:32 Rick Scott starts speaking. At 32:17 Wilkerson’s testimony begins. At 37:23 Brian begins. I’m afraid I didn’t follow past that, so there may be some back and forth). Alternatively, you can access the written testimony as presented to the comittee, or the transcript on the POGO site (they have the same content but the POGO page has larger type and more visual spacing.) The problems addressed are of long standing, It’s good that they are being discussed at this level.

Food For Thought

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